Report: Chelsea 2 United Women 1 (AET)

In our last game before the upcoming international break, Marc Skinner made a single change to the team that started against Atletico Madrid on Thursday. Ellen Wangerheim, who finished that game playing through the middle, replaced Lea Schuller, who moved to the bench.

Sam Kerr gave Chelsea a 78th-minute lead shortly after coming off the bench, but United sub Simi Awujo drew us level almost immediately with her second-ever goal for the Reds. There was nothing in it through 90 minutes, forcing extra-time, which presented Chelsea with what proved to be the winner.

Naomi Girma’s close-range finish restored their advantage, which United sadly could not match a second time.

The Reds may be out of the FA Cup but, after four games in only nine days, our next outing comes in three weeks’ time as we face Chelsea again in the Subway Women’s League Cup final on 15 March. The first trophy of 2025/26 will be on the line at Ashton Gate in Bristol.

FIRST HALF

With the teams separated by just a point in the current WSL table, there was unsurprisingly little between them in the opening stages. Phallon Tullis-Joyce made a near-post save to deny Chelsea winger Alyssa Thompson, while Jess Park’s precise curling shot was pushed away by England’s Hannah Hampton. But early chances were otherwise few and far between.

Park caught another glimpse of goal just under half-an-hour in when she lifted an effort over the bar. Given her recent track record of rippling the net, she was disappointed to see it miss the target after getting under the ball.

A spell of Chelsea pressure followed and Phallon soon reacted sharply to parry a low strike from Erin Cuthbert destined for the bottom corner. From the resultant corner, Dominique Janssen hooked the ball away off the line after Girma’s effort took a deflection. The hosts went close once more on the stroke of half-time, as Lauren James was denied one-on-one by our no. 91.

SECOND HALF

After the restart, a more routine save from Tullis-Joyce stopped Thompson finding a way through. At the other end, both sets of fans inside Kingsmeadow held their breath as Lisa Naalsund put her foot through an inviting bouncing ball outside the box, which took a deflection to carry it wide.

It marked United’s first sustained spell of pressure and Melvine Malard was close to heading the Reds into the lead at a corner from the right – Chelsea left-back Veerle Buurman was well-placed to block just in front of the line before the ball could reach the goal.

The tie had just entered a lull when Park smacked the post from 30 yards, desperately close to both the opening goal and adding to her already sensational personal highlights reel this season. That served to liven things up again and Malard soon fired over after a knockdown from Wangerheim.

There was a threat from Chelsea with 20 minutes to go when Sjoeke Nusken could only direct Thompson’s fierce cross wide of the target. It was at that stage that Sonia Bompastor turned to the bench, withdrawing the latter and introducing Kerr, whose improvised finish six minutes later, after Buurman’s flick-on at a corner, kicked up off the far post and into Tullis-Joyce’s goal.

The response from the Reds was swift. A free-kick from Maya Le Tissier wasn’t cleared by Chelsea and Awujo was well placed to poke the ball past Hampton from close range. Moments later, another Le Tissier free-kick, almost at the halfway line, was fortuitously picked up by the wind and had Hampton scrambling to turn it behind for a corner.

EXTRA-TIME

Chelsea made a triple change for the start of the additional half-hour and one of those introduced, Guro Reiten, tried her luck early in the first half, firing wide from distance.

The Blues went ahead for the second time in the game nine minutes in. Tullis-Joyce pulled off an outstanding save to push Buurman’s initial header from a corner onto the post, but the ball fell kindly to Girma to turn in the rebound a few yards out.

Skinner made three more changes in the final 15 minutes, with Lea Schuller, Gabby George and Layla Drury entering the fray in search of an equaliser.

United fought valiantly to force a penalty shootout, with Le Tissier notably firing straight at Hampton from distance. Crosses didn’t quite find their targets in the end, with Tullis-Joyce spending most of the final moments in Chelsea’s box, and the hosts ultimately holding on to progress.

MATCH DETAILS

Chelsea: Hampton; Carpenter, Bronze (Buchanan 91), Girma, Buurman; Cuthbert (c), Walsh, Nusken (Kaptein 91); Rytting Kaneryd (Baltimore 46), James (Reiten 91), Thompson (Kerr 72).

Subs not used: Peng, Sarwie, Potter, Beever-Jones.

Goals: Kerr 78, Girma 99.

Booked: James.

United: Tullis-Joyce; Lundkvist, Le Tissier (c), Turner (George 106), Janssen; Zigiotti (Awujo 70), Miyazawa (Drury 111); Park, Naalsund (Schuller 106), Malard; Wangerheim (Terland 70).

Subs not used: Middleton-Patel, Rendell, Anderson.

Goal: Awujo 81.

Booked: Janssen, Le Tissier.